Thread: About to take the plunge, advice/help wanted

Hi, I'm new to the forum, although I've been a wetshaver for years. After starting out with a Gillette DE in the 60's, I migrated through every shaving gadget to come down the pike, and the only part of my shaving routine that I enjoyed was the lathering. In the past year, I came back to De shaving, and now enjoy it immensely, look forward to shaving, and have gotten reasonably good at it. I can give myself a BBS shave with any of my 3 Merkurs: Future, Slant, HD Classic. I pick a different one each day, depending on how I feel. I use Feather blades, and have no difficulty whatsoever with their sharpness. I just keep a very light touch going.
Now--here's the thing: I have this recurring thought that I want to graduate to a straight razor, and I need some (your) advice before taking the plunge. My thoughts are tending toward the Feather DX, and here's why: I really don't believe that I can hone a razor well. The fact is I don't do that well with a knife, and cooking's my hobby, so I use electric sharpeners. That being said, I think I could really do a rotten job honing the razor, and I'm not even confident that I could strop it effectively. Yes--I know--most people learn how to do it, but I'm really lacking the confidence in my own ability. Anyway, that's why the Feather, and I think I can handle it's sharpness. The DX rather than the RG because I understand that it's just a tad heavier, so there's less inclination to bear down on the razor.
Now, if you really think that I'm not as incompetent as I think I am, what would you recommend for a good straight razor? I have my eyes on the Straight Razor Place Limited Edition sold at Classic Shaving. If I get that one, how often would I need to hone it. (and here I'm thinking that I would send it to Lynn periodically, but how often is that?) And what if I'm a really incompetent stropper? Again, I'm willing to admit that I could be wrong, and maybe I am trainable beyong what I imagine myself to be, but that's another issue to be decided upon when the blood starts flowing down my face.
Will, at Classic Shaving, says that in fact I will get a better shave with the Feather. He also says that they've just gotten the Feather Straight Handle razors in--not yet up on the web site.
So--that's my story and I'm sticking to it. And that's why I need the benefit of your advice and experience. Anyway, thanks for wading through this long post, and for any help you can offer.
Eric

Eric, welcome.

I would suggest you steer away from a feather..sharp as hell and if you are going to cut yourself then the feather will do it nicely.

Get a vintage razor from one of the members such as Joe Chandler or Bill Ellis (urleebird) plus a few other. The razors will be super sharp and you will not have to hone for quite a while. Check out Tony for a strop and maybe a double sided paddle strop to keep the edge finely tuned. Stropping is hell of a lot easier than honing.

Gary

I've never used a Feather so I can't recommend tem, but I have shaved with the SRP club straight and it's a great bit of steel. Hones up really well and shaves like a dream.

If you really are an incompetent stropper then just take even more time during stropping and you should do fine. Patience is a word we like to throw around a lot. Grab yourself a paddle strop with pastes from Tony and you'll likely only have to send that one razor out to Lynn once or twice year. Also, having a real straight (or two ) in the house will give you the chance to try your own hand at honing and see if you can pull it off.

X

Welcome to the forum.

I will also recommend that you ship
the feather and go directly to a
straight razor.

But be warned..... you can't own
just one.......

Do check out Joe Chandler, Bill Ellis
or Tony Miller.



Terry

Hi Eric and welcome!

In terms of stropping, I doubt anyone could have been as big a gormless twit as I was initially, but with reading, watching video from the web, and getting advice from members on this forum, all was well in a relatively short space of time. The thing is to get the gist of the technique, go slow, and keep a light touch - sounds like you have that already - the rest comes with practice and time.

Honing sounds intimidating, and can be frustrating, but in fact is reasonably straightforward - being good at it is another matter... Again, correct technique, a light touch and going slowly are the key. And, there's plenty of friendly people on the forums to offer help when needed. Depending on your usage, you may get away with only needing to hone a few times a year. Most people get hold of an ebay cheapy to practice on.

Anyway, I reckon you should go for it. I guarantee that everyone here will be more than happy to help/advise and hear about your progress, and cheer you on.

James.

Welcome aboard!

The first thing I will recommend is that you purchase the DVD from Lynn Abrams. It is 3 1/2 hours of information on every aspect of straight razor shaving, and that includes stropping and honing. $19.95(?) . Just go to the Buy/Sell/Trade forum. It is a sticky at the top. I have most if not all of the CD/DVD's on wetshaving and this one is the most comprehensive and most useful.

I think honing a straight is easier than honing a kitchen knife. Unless you have one of those gadgets that maintains the correct angles you have to hold the angle as well as worry about pressure and contact with the blade and hone. At least with the straight the angle is automatic. All of us here had to learn the hard way through trial and error. Maybe a few were naturals at it but most weren't so your just another member of the club. Confidence is the key here so if your taking a defeatist attitude about this the razor will have kicked your butt before you start and you aren't going to let that happen are you?

I've never used a feather but I do have 2 club razors and as Xman says they shave like a dream and I have it on the q-t that the club razor he used was especially nice.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

I've never used a feather but I do have 2 club razors and as Xman says they shave like a dream and I have it on the q-t that the club razor he used was especially nice.

Don't let it get around, but it's true.

X

Originally Posted by xman

I've never used a Feather so I can't recommend tem, but I have shaved with the SRP club straight and it's a great bit of steel. Hones up really well and shaves like a dream.

X

I HAVE used a Feather, so I can't recommend them . . .


You can get an already honed razor. Both stropping and honing are much easier than you might imagine. You just need to know what your doing which takes trial and error more than anything else. To this day I have no idea how to hone a knife and that ignorance saved me a lot of time unlearning bad habits.

Starting with a sharpened razor helps everything, trying to hone a razor off Ebay takes a lot more knowledge.

I love my Feather. I've never had any trouble using it, but it'll cut you before quick can get ready. It leaves my face feeling quite a bit more "dried out" after the shave than a standard straight, though.